Jinxiang dialect

Jinxiang dialect (金鄉話), is a Taihu Wu dialect, or a Northern Wu dialect, spoken in Cangnan county of Wenzhou prefecture-level city. It is considered to be a Taihu Wu linguistic exclave within the mostly Min Nan-speaking part of Southern Zhejiang.

Modern Jinxiang dialect is descended from the speech of soldiers from Northern Zhejiang who settled during the Ming dynasty due to Wokou pirate raids, during the reign of Jiajing Emperor. These soldiers were sent to Jinxiang in order to protect the town from raids by the Wokou. The majority of Jinxiang natives today are descended from those soldiers who served under Qi Jiguang.

Isolated from the other Taihu Wu-speaking regions, surrounded by Min Nan-speaking areas, Jinxiang dialect has some degree of influence from Zhenan Min. It has also some influence from Mandarin Chinese.